duel
Americannoun
-
duels
plural
-
a prearranged combat between two persons, fought with deadly weapons according to an accepted code of procedure, especially to settle a private quarrel.
-
any contest between two persons or parties.
verb (used with or without object)
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duels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dueled,
past participle, past
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duelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
dueling,
present participle
-
duelling
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
a prearranged combat with deadly weapons between two people following a formal procedure in the presence of seconds and traditionally fought until one party was wounded or killed, usually to settle a quarrel involving a point of honour
-
a contest or conflict between two persons or parties
verb
-
to fight in a duel
-
to contest closely
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
duelsimple
-
duelssimple
-
have dueledperfect
-
have duelledperfect
-
has dueledperfect
-
has duelledperfect
-
am duelingprogressive
-
am duellingprogressive
-
are duelingprogressive
-
are duellingprogressive
-
is duelingprogressive
-
is duellingprogressive
-
have been duelingperfect progressive
-
have been duellingperfect progressive
-
has been duelingperfect progressive
-
has been duellingperfect progressive
Past
-
dueledsimple
-
duelledsimple
-
had dueledperfect
-
had duelledperfect
-
was duelingprogressive
-
was duellingprogressive
-
were duelingprogressive
-
were duellingprogressive
-
had been duelingperfect progressive
-
had been duellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of duel
1585–95; earlier duell < Medieval Latin duellum, Latin: earlier form of bellum war, probably maintained and given sense “duel” by association with Latin duo two
Explanation
A duel is a fight between two people, usually using swords or other weapons. If you tend to be a little cowardly, you're probably glad that people aren't expected to defend their honor with a duel these days. The classic definition of a duel is the kind that happens all the time in Shakespeare plays: two men clanking swords together in a battle to the death over some issue of honor or betrayal. Today, the word duel can be used to talk about any kind of contest or struggle — like a duel between political candidates. The word duel can be traced back to both duo, Latin for "two," and also duellum, which means "war."
Vocabulary lists containing duel
Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Commonly Confused Words, List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Among the criteria graded on Anderson's 'radar chart' were defensive regains, duel success, line-breaking passes, aerial-duel success and defensive errors.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
JD made his first varsity start last week, then came Thursday night when he and Grady engaged in an entertaining duel that deserved to be on TV.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
By playing directly, even if Liverpool lose the initial duel, they are well placed to pounce upon second balls.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Why did book lovers stop just short of challenging Kondo to a duel over something she didn’t actually say?
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
He’d known it from the moment the duel started, and began sweating when she had the opportunity to bestow a winning blow and failed to deliver it.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
He had survived bandito ambushes and cutthroat plots, shipwrecks and crash-landings and high-sea duels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
He's becoming a real monster in there, wins a lot of second balls and a lot of duels.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Egyptians in antiquity engaged in sword combat for warfare, but also for competition — Romans utilized swords in gladiator events, rituals and duels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Striker Barry, 23, won more aerial duels than any other player in his first Premier League campaign but was inconsistent in front of goal.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
She couldn’t see the point in having the duels outside—well, apart from making the Champions even more uncomfortable.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
They had already dueled on the clay of Roland-Garros and the grass of Wimbledon this season, taking one final apiece.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2025
After passing Elliott, van Gisbergen dueled with Haley in the final laps before the three-time Supercars champion moved in front for good.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 2, 2023
You could choose to showcase different sorts of stories with a more positive attitude and still be a hit; see Oprah Winfrey, whose talk show Springer’s dueled with in the ratings.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
Strome and Milano, teenagers at the time, dueled in a shootout after a winner couldn’t be decided in overtime.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 20, 2023
The two dueled for the first half of the game, but Bobby clearly had the advantage after that and he won on the thirty-ninth move.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
He duelled with O'Rourke, eventually getting into a tangle against a short ball and being given caught behind on review.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
The Red Bull driver passed the Ferrari with four laps to go after the two had duelled during a tense race.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2022
But Valérien Ismaël, Barnsley’s head coach, has previously duelled with Tuchel on the touchline in the Bundesliga, when his Wolfsburg side lost 3-0 to Borussia Dortmund.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 11, 2021
Open ended with Mickelson once again having to settle for being second after he and fellow American Payne Stewart had duelled for the title during a cool and rainy final round.
From Reuters ● Jun. 10, 2014
She’d duelled for their freedom, out-pirated the pirates, gained the crew’s respect so well that Blackbeard finally put them ashore lest Hylla take over his ship.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Cyber company ReliaQuest is dueling online with hacking group ShinyHunters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
The duo layer backing tracks until they seemingly collapse, like the dueling accenting rhythms of “Soledad” or the spacey and spectacular “Sensación,” which reaches a level of yearning that Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” couldn’t buy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
The cone of silence that’s followed the wedding is the only place in which these dueling Swifts can freely coexist.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
He and the large L.A.-based produce company have dueling legal complaints over a contract delineating how the fruit was to be marketed and sold.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
He jerked his chin at the dueling men.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
As the name reflected, the museum contained duelling missions from the start, showcasing American technological advances and telling a more general historical story.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
Gyokeres could make use of long balls by duelling with defenders in wider areas, looking to run the channels.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
London's Metropolitan Police said ahead of the duelling events that it would mount one of its largest operations in recent years, as the British capital also hosts the FA Cup Final.
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
Soon after Disney pulled the plug, Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, with whom she shares a son, released duelling statements with fresh allegations about their turbulent relationship.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026
Percy had been intimidating enough before - summoning hurricanes, duelling pirates, killing giants in the Colosseum...
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
